Frank Lucas (Oklahoma legislator)

Frank Lucas
Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee
In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Collin Peterson
Succeeded by	Mike Conaway
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Wes Watkins
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 6th district
In office May 10, 1994 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Glenn English
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	Frank Dean Lucas January 6, 1960 Cheyenne, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lynda Lucas
Alma mater	Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
Religion	Southern Baptist

Frank Dean Lucas (born January 6, 1960) is an American politician. Lucas is the U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district, serving since 2003, having previously represented the 6th district, from 1994 to 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party and chairs the House Committee on Agriculture. His district, numbered as the 6th district from 1994 to 2003, is the largest congressional district in the state and one of the largest in the nation that does not cover an entire state. It covers 34,088.49 square miles and stretches from the Panhandle to the fringes of the Tulsa suburbs—almost half of the state's land mass.

United States House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture (Chairman)
  • As Chair of the full committee, Rep. Lucas may sit on all subcommittees as an ex officio member.
• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises
  • Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment

Legislation

On April 7, 2014, Lucas introduced the Customer Protection and End User Relief Act (H.R. 4413; 113th Congress) into the House.^[1] The bill would reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission through 2018 and amend some provisions of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.^[2][3]

Political campaigns

Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas speaks at a town hall meeting held in the Pioneer Technology Center in Ponca City, Oklahoma on September 26, 2011.

Oklahoma House of Representatives

He first ran for the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1984 as a Republican against the incumbent Democrat, narrowly losing. A second attempt in 1986 also fell short, but he won in 1988. He lost in 1990 after the legislature made his district somewhat friendlier to Democrats. However, he returned in 1992.

U. S. House of Representatives

In 1994, 6th district Congressman Glenn English stepped down to become a lobbyist for rural electric cooperatives. Lucas won the Republican nomination for the special election on May 10. He faced Dan Webber, press secretary to former Governor and U.S. Senator David L. Boren, now president of the University of Oklahoma. The 6th was already by far the largest in the state, stretching from the Panhandle to the town of Spencer, in the far northeastern Oklahoma City metropolitan area. However, the state legislature had redrawn it so that it included many poor Oklahoma City neighborhoods that had never voted Republican. Lucas scored a major upset; he won by eight percentage points, carrying 18 of the district's 24 counties. His victory has been seen by some pundits as an early sign of the wave six months later that saw the Republicans take control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Lucas himself won a full term in that wave and has been re-elected seven times, never dropping below 59 percent of the vote, and even ran unopposed in 2002 and 2004.

Lucas' district was renumbered as the 3rd after Oklahoma lost a district in the 2000 Census. His already vast district was made even larger. He lost most of his old district's share of Oklahoma City, which was home to 60 percent of the district's population. He once represented much of the downtown area, including the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. He still represents that portion of the city located in Canadian County. To make up for this large population loss, the 3rd was pushed further to the east, picking up part of the Tulsa area (including a small portion of Tulsa itself) and some rural areas. As a result, his district now includes 48.5 percent of the state's landmass, and is nearly as large as the state's other four districts combined.

2014 Republican primary

In the 2014 Republican primary, Lucas won 83% of the vote. 12% went to Robert Hubbard; and 5% went to Timothy Ray Murray.^[4]

Electoral history

Oklahoma's 6th congressional district: Results 1992–2000^[5]

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1992		Glenn English *	134,734	68%		Bob Anthony	64,068	32%
1994		Jeffrey S. Tollett	45,399	30%		Frank D. Lucas	106,961	70%
1996		Paul M. Barby	64,173	36%		Frank D. Lucas	113,499	64%
1998		Paul M. Barby	43,555	33%		Frank D. Lucas	85,261	65%		Ralph B. Finkle, Jr.	Independent	2,455	2%
2000		Randy Beutler	63,106	39%		Frank D. Lucas	95,635	59%		Joseph V. Cristiano	Libertarian	2,435	2%

* English resigned mid-term, and Lucas won the special election to succeed him against Democratic opponent Dan Webber.

Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district: Results 2002–2010^[5]

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
2002		(no candidate)				Frank D. Lucas	148,206	76%		Robert T. Murphy	Independent	47,884	24%
2004		(no candidate)				Frank D. Lucas	215,510	82%		Gregory M. Wilson	Independent	46,621	18%
2006		Sue Barton	61,749	33%		Frank D. Lucas	128,042	67%
2008		Frankie Robbins	62,297	24%		Frank D. Lucas	184,306	70%		Forrest Michael	Independent	17,756	7%
2010		Frankie Robbins	45,684	22%		Frank D. Lucas	161,915	78%

Personal life

Lucas is a fifth-generation Oklahoman; his family has farmed in western Oklahoma for over 100 years. He lives in Cheyenne with his wife, Lynda. They have three children and one grandchild.^[6]

References

1. "H.R. 4413 – All Actions". United States Congress. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
2. Pagliocca, Theresa (14 April 2014). "Customer Protection and End-User Relief Act (H.R. 4413) Receives House Committee Approval". DTCC. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
3. "CBO – H.R. 4413". Congressional Budget Office. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
4. "Oklahoma – Summary Vote Results June 25, 2014 – 05:28PM ET" Associated Press
5. "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
6. "About Frank".

External links

• Congressman Frank Lucas official U.S. House site
• Frank Lucas for Congress
• Frank Lucas at DMOZ
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress